DRAFT

MINUTES

TASK FORCE ON FAMILIES

MARCH 17, 1997

12 NOON

PRESENT: Co-Chairs Lois Bronz, Paul Noto, Members:

Amy Paulin, Dr. Maria Munoz-Kantha

Legislator George Latimer Secretary: Lynne

Creighton Staff: Don Sandford, Deputy Clerk,

Deputy Chief of Staff Cora Greenberg,

Westchester Children’s Association

The meeting was called to order at 1:10pm by Mr. Noto.

Ms. Greenberg gave a summary on topics dicussed at the Westchester Children’s Association Children’s Issues Breakfast, which took place on March 13, 1997 at 8:00am in White Plains.

Some of the issues discussed and recommendations to the County:

*Child Sexual Abuse -

-Support adoption of a multi-disciplinary approach to the

investigation, prosecution and treatment of child sexual abuse,

such as the model currently being developed in Yonkers.

- Develop a Child Advocacy Center.

- Increase the availability of the Child Abuse Coordinator to track

individual cases.

*Welfare Reform -

-Counties will be facing tremendous changes. Ms. Greenberg

said that Westchester has never been shy about taking the lead in

terms of managed care and workfare and has been ahead of the

wave, and should not have to wait for Albany to dictate the changes.

Ms. Greenberg said that there’s a lot to be done now in

Westchester to prepare for whatever the state is going to do, such

as assessing and analyzing the potential need for child care options

Where are the recipients that are going to be working?

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How old are their children and what kind of child care are they

going to need and what is the County going to do to build that

supply? Ms. Greenberg said that right now there is not an

adequate supply to meet the needs of people currently working.

*Child Care -

-The County should partner with advocates and providers to

research the supply of child care and determine projected needs.

- Westchester should move quickly to expend funds budgeted for

court-based child care centers.

- The state and county should ensure parent choice of child care

and continue subsidies for the working poor who are already in

the workforce so they are not pushed onto public assistance.

*Child Health

- The County should enhance ongoing consumer education on

managed care for Medicaid participants through linkages with

community-based organizations.

- Support the establishment of a County Task Force on Teen

Pregnancy to assess and coordinate efforts to address this

issue.

*Youth Development/Invest-in-Kids

- Maintain Westchester’s commitment to the youth development

model through all funding streams.

- Restore and increase Invest-in-Kids funding to $1.4 million.

- Support long-range solutions by renewing grants for up to 3 yrs.

- Eliminate separate categorical programming, such as anti-bias

programs, from Invest-in-Kids funding.

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-County planning for children and youth services should be

coordinated across departments and be based on community-

specific assessments of need.

-Support the development of Community Schools, public schools

which are open for extended hours and in which children and

families may access a variety of services and programs.

-Expand local "Networks" currently funded and staffed through

the Department of Community Health.

*Youth Platform

-To help teens better understand, manage and make informed

decisions about their sexuality.

-To increase tolerance among teenagers.

-To prevent violence in schools.

-To decrease the incidence of sexual harassment in schools and

to provide better response to sexual harassment in schools.

-To curb the use of alcohol and drugs by teenagers.

There were questions and a discussion regarding each of the topics that were presented and Mr. Noto thanked Ms. Greenberg for her presentation.

The next meeting of the Task Force will be Monday, April 7 at 12 Noon.

The Task Force asked Lynne to schedule the following meetings:

- Anne Boyer - Director, Youth Bureau, re: Teen pregnancy

coordination.

- Dr. Jean Hudson, Deputy Commissioner, Dept. of Health,

re: Teen pregnancy.

- Cynthia Wallquist, Urban Youth Initiative, re: Invest in Kids.

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Mrs. Paulin asked Lynne to send a letter to Commissioner

Mary Glass, Dept. of Social Services, reminding her to send the

information requested by the Task Force at the February 24

meeting.

Mr. Noto entertained a motion to move the minutes of March 10, seconded by Mrs. Paulin, approved by a vote of 4-0.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:55pm on motion of Mr. Noto,

seconded by Mrs. Bronz, passed by a vote of 4-0.